City Girl, Country Girl
by ValentineMichael
Summary: Haley resents the small town she's always lived in and dreams of moving to Zuzu City. Leah left the city to get away from the crushing pressure and to get in touch with her muse, away from the distractions and grind of urban life. Leah has experience. Haley has resources. Both have no idea what they're in for when they start up an unlikely partnership.


Cindersap Forest

Spring 05, 2019

Haley Sherman adjusted her lens again, snapping one last shot of the columns of light pouring through the canopy of Cindersap forest. It was a lazy day in late spring and she had nothing much else to do; Alex was off on one of his thousand-and-one exercise routines and Emily was deep in her sewing. Everyone else in town was somewhere between monumentally boring and nice but inconsequential; considering that you could fit all of Pelican Town into a bus and probably still have room for another family or two, she felt she couldn't be blamed for that opinion.

Things were at least getting slightly different lately. A farmer had moved in to the old Holloway farm, and in a place as small as Pelican Town that sadly passed for news. Haley had run into her a few times; she was definitely striking, but between the parade of flannels and jeans, along with her big farming boots and the constant aroma of dirt that followed her everywhere, she wasn't exactly Haley's cup of tea either. After catching Haley snapping pictures of the daffodils she had promised to grow her some flowers, which was something to look forward to.

Haley snapped back to the real world when she heard a loud crash, and an exasperated shout. It seemed to be coming from that little house by Marnie's ranch, what could charitably be called a cottage. Haley, with nothing else to do, walked over and knocked. Some rushed, clonking steps and the door swung open and a willowy red-head with a long, tumbling braid started talking immediately

"Sorry about that Marnie, hope I didn't spook the-" she got out before realizing that it was not the cheerful older woman who ran the local ranch. "Oh. Hi, sorry, you're Emily's sister, yeah? Haley?"

Haley looked back at the woman in the doorway. She was covered in paint splashes, her hands were calloused and…was that blood? "Are you…okay?" Haley asked.

The redhead looked at her, and traced the line of sight back to her hands. "Oh, this? Yeah. Just had a minor sculptural accident. Nothing serious." Haley looked beyond her and saw…she wasn't entirely sure what she was seeing. A massive block of wood occupied the majority of the floorspace of this little cottage; it looked like someone had cut the middle out of a tree and flung it into someone's studio apartment.

"Oh. Wow." Haley said, and kicked herself for the hollowness of that statement. She was meant to be the one presentable person in this town, for Yoba's sake. She had to be better than that. "Is that what you're working on?"

The redhead looked behind her. "Yeah, or at least what I'm trying to work on anyway." She pointed to what had caused all the ruckus; there was a hammer laying on the floor next to a chisel that had apparently shattered on its blunt end, making it next to impossible to hold. "I'm gonna have to see about getting a new chisel off of Robin, or making Clint repair mine. They're not expensive, but it's always a pain trying to get things out here."

Haley laughed at that. "Tell me about it. I had to drive all the way into Zuzu for this," she said, holding up her camera. "It was that or go to Joja , and I'd never set foot in that fluorescent hellhole." The redhead laughed in response; a clear, bright sound like bells chiming.

"Oh you and me both, doll. I'm Leah. It's nice to meet you, Ms…?" Haley realized she had yet to introduce herself and once again kicked herself mentally.

"Oh you were right, I'm Haley, Emily's sister. Even though no one's called me 'Emily's Sister' since middle school." Leah extended her hand, and Haley shook it; a weird gesture for her, but one that really showed the roughness of the other girls hands.

"It's a pleasure, Haley. So, do you know how to use that thing around your neck or do you just like expensive toys?" The question stung, more than the other girl probably knew, so Haley responded as patiently as she could.

"Yeah, no matter what the town might have you think, I am more than a stunningly pretty face. I've been taking pictures around here since before you moved in." So, maybe not all that patient then.

"Whoa! Cool your jets there, Haley, I wasn't trying to start anything. It's just nice to meet a fellow artist, is all."

Haley blinked at that. It was dumb, but she hadn't actually been called an artist before. Not by Alex, who certainly didn't think of her as much more than the hottest girl he knew. Definitely not by Sam and Sebastian's little crew, who mostly called her a snob. Not even by Emily, who mostly seemed to think of Haley as the perpetual Younger Sibling. Being recognized, even for something this superficial, made her light up a little inside.

"Oh," she said, regretting how much she kept saying it "Thank you. It's nice for me, too. Especially since you seem to know your stuff." Leah beamed at that.

"It is why I moved here. I wanted to get some peace and quiet, really focus down on my work. Zuzu was just too much, all the time."

Haley's head snapped at the mention of Zuzu City, the closest beacon of civilization to her mind. "You're from Zuzu?" She asked, trying to keep from sounding like a bumpkin. Leah winced a little.

"Born and bred, though I spent every summer out in the valley with my aunts. Went to college out there, tried my hand at the city art scene, burnt out, and came here." She shrugged. "That's my past. You're local yourself, yeah?" Haley grimaced at that, and Leah chuckled a little at the mirroring.

"Ugh, yes. My parents bought a house out here right before I was born. Emily at least got a few years in somewhere that actually shows up on maps." Haley blew a strand of hair out of her face. "It's pretty around here, I guess, but there's just…nothing going on, you know? No fashion, no galleries, no shops worth anything…" Haley trailed off. "Sorry, I don't mean to like, rain on your parade or anything. It's just crazy to me that someone would want to move out here and leave, like, EVERYTHING behind."

Leah smiled, the gesture not quite reaching her eyes. "Well, sometimes you don't really want to deal with your everything anymore, I suppose. Anyway, I've got to get going if I have any shot of getting a new chisel soon. I'll see you around, Haley."

Haley smiled back. "Totally. And you know, with some makeup and new clothes, you'd be really pretty."

Leah's face contorted for just a second, and Haley froze. That had come out wrong, she'd have to say something to salvage it.

"You're not the first to say that, and probably won't be the last. But that's the exact sort of thing I came out here to avoid. Now, if you'll excuse me." Before Haley could say another word, the door slammed shut in her face.

"That could have gone better," Haley thought to herself. She had not liked the look Leah had given her. It was one thing for the local bumpkins to think she was a shallow little airhead; it was another for someone who had actually been around people, someone who cared about beauty, to see nothing but candy coating. She was going to make this right. And she thought she knew just the place…

Pelican Blacksmith

Spring 05, 2019

Haley had never actually been to the blacksmiths before. It was crazy to her that they still had a blacksmith, but he'd been there as long as she could remember. The guy behind the counter looked younger than she expected, but his heavy frame and sullen expression didn't exactly peak Haley's interest.

"Haley Sherman? Emily's sister? What are you doing in my shop?" The man asked, the tone in his voice somewhere between confusion and terror.

"What is it with people calling me that today?" She asked, annoyed. The man shrank back a little, and she realized she was upsetting her second stranger of the day. Sighing, she tried again. "Sorry, it's been a weird day. You sell tools and stuff, right?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, among other things. What were you looking for?" Haley walked up to his counter, looking at the giant furnace and heavy steel anvil behind him.

"Something simple. A sculpting chisel?" The man furrowed his brow.

"Oh? I mean, I've got a few, they're inexpensive and people tend to want multiples. Do you know what size you're looking for?" Haley shrank back at that. She hadn't really considered the logistics of this.

"How much would it cost for…one of each?" She asked. The man suddenly lit up, a sign Haley was not super excited about.

"If you were going for the whole range, let's see…I could see with parting for them all at about 4,000 G?" The color ran from Haley's face.

"I could buy half a damn wardrobe for that, you maniac!" She shouted at the man, but this time he didn't shrink back.

"Yeah, and probably plenty of cheap tools. But you'd be back here in about two weeks when they inevitably broke, and you'd end up spending twice that in a year. I make good stuff, I charge good rates. If you don't like, go somewhere else." He turned, as if he were going to walk back to his forge, and Haley cracked.

"FINE, whatever," she shouted, taking the notes out of her wallet. "Can I get them in a case or something?"

Walking out of the blacksmith's shop, Haley was still trying to figure out why she'd done this in the first place. Her allowance was generous but she wasn't due to get a new one for two weeks, and now she was carrying these stupid heavy tools from the stupid blacksmith in a stupid backpack back to her stupid room because this stupid town got too stupid dark to walk out into the stupid woods at night where she'd find…

She cut off there. What exactly would she find? A grateful new friend who'd tell her everything about the glamorous city without speaking down to her like some county-fair Ms. Hayseed? Some pissed-off woman that she'd first offended by insulting her looks and then implied to be poor by buying her new tools? Or some creeped out artist annoyed that this stranger was bothering her and buying her stuff, as if that would give Haley any kind of right to know her?

Not paying attention to her surroundings anymore, she stumbled back to her house, dropped the bag by the door, and walked into her room. The dark room beckoned, somewhere she could make sense of the world, where she knew the rules and the outcomes. She walked back, figuring she should at least develop her pictures.

Hours later, Haley emerged from her room, realizing she should take a shower before she went to bed. In the kitchen, Emily was putting away some leftovers from work and spotted her, calling out in that chipper little voice.

"Haley! Clint told me you stopped by his shop today." Haley blinked.

"Who?" She asked, still trudging to the shower.

"The blacksmith, silly. He said you bought sculptor's tools? Are you engaging with your muse in new ways? It's always good to open new channels, you know." Haley froze. Of course, OF COURSE he drank at that stupid saloon. Where else would a big sad man go in such a small town? And of course he talked about everyone who came into his shop, what else did he do that was worth mentioning?

"Yeah, they're not for me or anything. They're like, an apology present," Haley said, trying to cut the conversation off before her sister started rattling off her hippy mumbo-jumbo. She had apparently said the wrong thing if that was what she was aiming for though, as Emily's normal smile suddenly exploded into excitement.

"An apology present? For who? Alex doesn't strike me as the type, I can't imagine you're getting them for Robin, and the only other sculptor I know is…oh my, did you get those for dear Leah?" Haley felt her cheeks burning, and wondered why on earth she was blushing at that.

"Yeah, I talked to her today and I think I upset her so…present. That's what mom and dad always do when they hurt someone's feelings." Haley had a pile of presents that attested to that.

Emily's smile continued, and Haley for not the first time resented her sunny older sister. "Oh that's so nice of you! She was just saying today that she'd have to get some new ones. I'm glad that you're making amends, you could use some more friends town you know." Now it was Haley's turn to be inquisitive.

"You talk to Leah?" She asked, feeling her cheeks flare up again and hoping her sister didn't notice. If she did, no comment was made.

"Oh, pretty frequently! She comes into the saloon a few times a week. Usually just has a single glass of wine, sits by herself or talks to Elliot, that writer from the beach. Such a nice girl!" Emily finished putting away her leftovers, and began walking back to her room. "You should go see her tomorrow! She probably won't be up very early, but you'll want to catch her before she goes and buys herself some new tools. Don't shower too long, I want to get the bar residue off me. Goodnight, Haley!" And with that, Haley was along in the hallway.


End file.
